Bed Bugs

Bed bugs have extraordinarily small bodies with a brown camouflage, they lay eggs everywhere, and are easily transferred, allowing them to infest entire homes and businesses. Bed bugs, often found in mattresses, bedding, clothing, furniture, and more can be recognized by the musty odor they exude, the brown and black spots on infected surfaces, blood stains on mattresses and bedding from crushed bed bugs, or their bite marks. Bed bug bites emit a burning sensation and generally are several red marks in a precise line.

Ants

Carpenter ants are only one species of ants which could infest your home or business. They have large black bodies and typically nest in wood able to retain moisture and easily accessible from the soil like wood porch structures, window frames, and door frames. You have an infestation if you see swarms of flying ants in the spring around wood structures, these are the adult ants leaving the nest to find new territory. Another sign of a carpenter ant infestation is wood dust or small piles of wood shavings found close to older damp wood.

Roach

The American cockroach is the largest species of cockroaches invading homes. They have a reddish brown or mahogany color with a yellow band outlining the area behind their head. Found anywhere food or moisture is present, these cockroaches are about two inches long and both the females and males can fly. They give off a musty smell and as they mature become more reddish brown. These cockroaches will hide in damp dark places.

Wasp

There are many species of wasps, ranging from microscopic to 1 ½” in size and ranging in color from black to metallic blues and greens and from reddish-brown to dark red and orange. Most wasps have a pinched waist and two pairs of wings. Wasps will nest in several places surrounding your home including hose reels, electrical boxes, soffits, decks, in the corners of windows, under awnings and porches, attics, crawl spaces, and gas grills. If you have a colony of wasps, there could be thousands of wasps living in the nest.

Rodent

Rodents are among the most adaptable and diseased critters to infest homes. They are extremely difficult to exterminate due to their rapid and constant breeding habits. Several species of rodents have the capability to squeeze into spaces much smaller than themselves, making even the smallest holes or cracks entrances to your home. Like many unwanted pests, rodents will cause severe damage to your home or business, excessive chewing and breeding will take a toll on your home’s structure.

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs have extraordinarily small bodies with a brown camouflage, they lay eggs everywhere, and are easily transferred, allowing them to infest entire homes and businesses. Bed bugs, often found in mattresses, bedding, clothing, furniture, and more can be recognized by the musty odor they exude, the brown and black spots on infected surfaces, blood stains on mattresses and bedding from crushed bed bugs, or their bite marks. Bed bug bites emit a burning sensation and generally are several red marks in a precise line.

Ants

Carpenter ants are only one species of ants which could infest your home or business. They have large black bodies and typically nest in wood able to retain moisture and easily accessible from the soil like wood porch structures, window frames, and door frames. You have an infestation if you see swarms of flying ants in the spring around wood structures, these are the adult ants leaving the nest to find new territory. Another sign of a carpenter ant infestation is wood dust or small piles of wood shavings found close to older damp wood.

Roach

The American cockroach is the largest species of cockroaches invading homes. They have a reddish brown or mahogany color with a yellow band outlining the area behind their head. Found anywhere food or moisture is present, these cockroaches are about two inches long and both the females and males can fly. They give off a musty smell and as they mature become more reddish brown. These cockroaches will hide in damp dark places.

Wasp

There are many species of wasps, ranging from microscopic to 1 ½” in size and ranging in color from black to metallic blues and greens and from reddish-brown to dark red and orange. Most wasps have a pinched waist and two pairs of wings. Wasps will nest in several places surrounding your home including hose reels, electrical boxes, soffits, decks, in the corners of windows, under awnings and porches, attics, crawl spaces, and gas grills. If you have a colony of wasps, there could be thousands of wasps living in the nest.

Rodent

Rodents are among the most adaptable and diseased critters to infest homes. They are extremely difficult to exterminate due to their rapid and constant breeding habits. Several species of rodents have the capability to squeeze into spaces much smaller than themselves, making even the smallest holes or cracks entrances to your home. Like many unwanted pests, rodents will cause severe damage to your home or business, excessive chewing and breeding will take a toll on your home’s structure.

What to Do if Your Rental Property Has Bed Bugs

Milwaukee is Notorious for the Pesky, Resilient Bed Bug. Don’t Try to Take Them On By Yourself.

If your tenants have called you to report red itchy bites on their skin in the morning, brown spots on bedding, or even a bed bug itself, your property is likely in the early stages of a bed bug infestation.

A bed bug problem can begin as an annoyance and turn into a disgusting health hazard in no time. Even one fertile female bed bug can produce hundreds of offspring. As a landlord, it is your responsibility to provide adequate living conditions for your tenants, and a bed bug problem is a sure way to scare off current and potential renters.

Battling these bugs can be an ordeal in a home, in an apartment building things can be even more complicated. If you discover bedbugs in your apartment building or rental property, it is important to co-ordinate with your tenants and a qualified Milwaukee pest control company to deal with the problem before your entire building is infected. Ignoring the problem will only make it more expensive and difficult to deal with once it spreads throughout your building.

Contact a Qualified Milwaukee Bed Bug Exterminator

The first step is to contact a qualified Milwaukee pest control company to assess the situation. A-Landlords will thoroughly inspect the unit, looking at couches, bedding, and other known bed bug dwellings to assess the extent of the infestation. With more information, you can form a strategy to combat the problem with your exterminator.

Bed bugs are nearly impossible to wipe out thoroughly without professional help. Store-bought bug sprays and home treatments are rarely effective and usually just drive the bugs deep into hiding for a short period of time. Without a professional Milwaukee bed bug exterminator, your infestation will just flare up again. Using your on-staff maintenance and janitorial personnel is only advisable if they have the proper training and access to specialized treatments.

Contact Other Tenants

Bed bugs are a particularly tenacious pest and just because they entered the building in one unit doesn’t mean that’s where they'll stay. Every unit adjacent to the infected one should be thoroughly inspected by a qualified bed bug exterminator to ensure the problem is limited to one unit.

Communicate the situation to the affected tenants without causing a panic, as well as any other tenants in the building. Ask for their cooperation and advise them to remain vigilant for signs of bed bugs in their units.

Coordinate with Tenants to Prepare for Bed Bug Treatment

Dealing with bed bugs is never quick or easy, but by taking steps to prepare their apartments your tenants can ensure that exterminators have access to bed bug hideouts. In preparation for bed bug treatment, ask your tenants to:

Tidy up: Bed bugs love to hide in clutter. By creating a clean and orderly apartment you deny bedbugs shelter.

Deal with the mattress: Bed bugs in mattresses can be dealt with by encasing the mattress in a special bug proof bag, which is available at many big-box stores and online outlets.

Wash all clothing and bedding: It is imperative that any potential bed bug habitat be thoroughly washed. Every sheet, blanket, clothing item, pillow, etc should be washed and put into a dryer on high heat for at least a half an hour. Exposing bedbugs and their eggs to that amount of heat will kill them.

Vacuum: Every surface should be vacuumed to suck up living and dead bugs. Dispose of full vacuum bags outdoors in a sealed plastic bag.

Communicate with Tenants to Prevent Bed Bugs from Returning

For new tenants moving in, provide literature and information about how to avoid bringing home bed bugs. Make sure they understand the dangers of second hand furniture and discards found on the street. Educate tenants on bedbug identification and hazards so that any future infestations can be dealt with swiftly and early.